Equipment, such as HVAC equipment, is manufactured by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) which have a variety of customers with differing needs. To meet these needs efficiently, OEMs develop semi-custom product lines, or product families, for particular market segments. Customers then select among various lists of parameters, configurations, and options of the product family to order semi-customized equipment in much the same way as automobile buyers customize their automobiles by choosing among available options.
For example, an HVAC equipment customer might choose among parameters, such as cooling capacities and electrical supply voltages, and among configurations, such as numbers and sizes of supply and exhaust fans. By selecting particular parameters, configurations, and options, the customer is ultimately choosing a single product from thousands or even millions of unique possibilities.
Once the HVAC customer has committed to its selections by placing an order, an HVAC OEM typically completes the order using an ETO (Engineer To Order) process. Specifically, this process entails passing the order to a team of engineers, who study the selections and adapt or customize a generic electrical and mechanical design to incorporate the customer selections. Among other things, this customization effort frequently requires redesigning the electrical control panel of the HVAC equipment.
However, one problem recognized by the current inventors is that conventional control panel redesign is particularly time consuming and expensive because the control panel functions as the brains of the HVAC equipment, and includes hundreds of interconnected components. This added time and expense places significant pressure on OEMs to limit the range of options they offer customers in a market where many customers are actually wanting more options and lower pricing.
Moreover, because of this timing and pricing pressure, many OEMs have sought to shorten the conventional design and manufacture process by skipping steps such as fully documenting their control panel designs with accurate as-built drawings. However, the lack of these drawings creates the further problem of making it difficult to service and troubleshoot HVAC equipment after installation.
Accordingly, the present inventors have identified a need for better ways of designing and manufacturing OEM equipment generally, and HVAC control panels particularly.